Orbs of Chaos
by Nightcrawler1224
Summary: A decade has passed since the destruction of the One Ring. A new threat from beyond the Western Seas brings a part of the Fellowship together again in search of one thing that can save Middle Earth... and some of a forgotton past will be recovered.
1. Prologue

Prologue  
  
As far back as the Eastern Corner, all the way to the Forbidden Realm, the land of Reogere stretched. This was the home for many races, from the small faeries to the Men, tall and somewhat stupid.  
  
The fairies dwell in the forest of Gilden, along side the many wood creatures, none more beautiful than they. Their iridescent wings sparkled when the light touched them, and brilliance shone about them in the darkest parts of the wood. Some compare their beauty to that of the Wood Elves, who take their residence in the city of Gilden within the forest. It is true, the Elves are beautiful, but Men have made myths of their true nature. These elves were tall and had the traditional pointed ears, but not quite as exaggerated as the Men and Dwarves had made it seem. Most were archers, quick with the bow and perfectly accurate with arrows. They are pale-skinned and seem as though they have an odd glow about them, as if they were holy or sacred. Their hair is white or dark brown for males, and the females usually have curly golden or dark brown locks that fall long past their shoulders.  
  
The Water Elves had long been gone, and the ruins of their great city Reogere stood at the south end of the land. They had once been a great race, but now were nothing more than carvings in ruin walls. The rumors were that the Water Elves were once even more beautiful than the Wood Elves and faeries, and had light colored hair rather than dark; and even the females were warriors.  
  
In the Mines of Cristor live the Dwarves, a short people who live their lives mining and industrializing. They have always had a bad relationship with Elves, and don't ever enjoy being near one. They have good ties with the Men, who live on the coast of the Sea of Hope; with their ever-growing population and typical little horse and wagon marketing in the square of the city Pathos.  
  
The quaintest of all are the Hobbits, who are about half the size of Men and live in their town of Hobbitend. They live for the simple things in life, such as sitting in a chair, gazing into the fireplace, smoking a favorite pipe; while some enjoy trekking away from their town and through field and forest, which is possible with out shoes; the soles of their feet are hardened to keep them protected, and thick hair covered the tops of them to keep them warm. They are known for their stealth and silence when walking and running, but the Elves travel even more so.  
  
All races have the sense not to wander into the North Mountains, the dwelling place of Dragons; and further still lay the Forbidden Realm, where the Orcs and Goblins reside in their place of torment and fear. It was here that long before the days of Sauron the Dark Lord and the One Ring in Middle Earth that six Orbs of Light were created, each given to leaders of one race or another. The Evil Queen Dahanar created and kept a seventh, a pure evil stone made out of the blackest hate there is, and with it controlled the other six. Now all of the Orbs of Light and Dark are lost, none accounted for in the vast world. 


	2. The Fellowship Rebirth

Chapter One  
  
An Elf of merely 75 years stared at her surroundings, a wedding precession gathered about, readying for the upcoming event. She looked at herself in the vertical pool of water that took over the entire stone wall; her reflection adorned with white water lilies embedded in her light brown hair and in a random fashion on the sky blue gown she wore. She gazed into her own emerald green eyes, which rippled suddenly… violently. The maidens around her looked startled, trying to ignore the shock waves that were now coming over the ground. The balance that held the water mirror upright was then lost and a flood came pouring off of the wall, pooling around the knees of the bride.  
  
"Your Highness…" one of the handmaidens finally spoke to her in a hurried way. "We must get you out of here, to safe keeping."  
  
"But…." The words of the royal bride were cut short, as crashing through the wall came large indescribable bug-like creatures. The princess was tossed to the side by a Beast, and her sight faded to black.  
  
Danel awoke from this nightmare once again in a cold sweat, her straight hair matted to her face and her lungs aching for breath. "What is the meaning of this dream?" she asked herself, clutching her bed sheets hard enough for her knuckles to become white. "Why do I see my face?"  
  
* * *  
  
As she had done so many times before, Danel searched through the many books in the city treasury, looking for an answer to her questions. And, like wise, she suprisedly glanced up as a heavy book was dropped to the stone floor once again. It had been purposefully dropped by another Elf, Liera, who could have passed as Danel's best friend, and that she was. "Hitting the books again, I see," Liera said, glaring into Danel's green eyes with her icy blue ones.  
  
"I'm going to figure out this dream if it kills me," Danel said, turning back to her book that she was searching for the seventh time.  
  
"You have been saying that for five years now." Liera pushed a strand of curly brown hair behind her ear as she leaned up against the wall of books. She had a wry grin on her face, the same look she got every time she had the idea for another one of her "adventures."  
  
Danel closed the book and looked skeptically at her friend. "I know that look. What is it now? Traveling to Exye Lake? Or maybe almost getting ourselves killed again in the Eastern Mountains?"  
  
Liera shook her head. "No. I have the feeling that you have the rare opportunity to get a step in the right direction for figuring out your dream."  
  
Danel crossed her arms as she leaned back on the shelf as well. "And what, pray-tell, is this 'step?'"  
  
Liera grabbed a hold of one of Danel's arms and began pulling her out the doorway. "You will have to come with me to find out, but, unfortunately, you'll have to put up with my dear brother."  
  
"Oh, the anticipation," Danel said, rolling her eyes at the exact second a young man with shoulder length white hair joined the ladies. "Hello, Reicu." Danel walked past him rudely, and Reicu followed behind his sister and her friend, sticking his tongue out.  
  
"Hello to you too, Danel," he said as he crossed his arms. "So what exactly is the big deal about this council meeting you're sneaking us into?"  
  
"What? You never said any thing about…"  
  
"Shh!" Liera shushed the two as they neared a tall white building covered with crawling vines. She walked to a plain wooden door and placed her hand on the knob. "People are saying that some travelers are here from Middle Earth." Danel couldn't see how this would help her, but followed her friend.  
  
They entered in the back of the large meeting hall, hardly noticed at all, not even by those standing on the platform at the front of the room. Aldere, the head Elf of the council, was speaking clearly of the five cloaked figures that sat behind him. "…These travelers wish to seek out the seven Orbs of Light and request the gathering of a fellowship for this journey." Danel grew more curious about this band of strangers when she noticed the elderly looking one on the left end had a wooden staff, as normally wizards do.  
  
The company stood at once, three of them rather small, and they removed their hoods, revealing the short ones as Hobbits, one as a rather good looking Elf, and a certain wizard with a long white beard. The wizard stepped forward, relieving Aldere of standing, and addressed the council. "I, Gandalf the White, am telling you the reason of coming to the great city of Gilden in search of party members. We have reason to believe that evil from the northern part of Reogere is spreading to the west and into Middle Earth." He paused, then noticing the three mischief-makers in the back of the room. "The only way for this to happen is if at least one of your Orbs is there, and the only way we will be able to find all seven is to have the help of an Elf native to Reogere."  
  
Of course, Reicu couldn't keep his mouth shut. "And what do you plan on doing with them once you have all seven? Become all-powerful as the Queen Dahanar did?" Liera growled at him under her breath and kicked him in the shin. "Ouch…"  
  
Gandalf looked at the seemingly adolescent Elf. "Although you are not a part of this council, I believe your concern is valid." Gandalf looked directly into his eyes. "We plan to destroy them."  
  
Reicu began to get cocky, and sensing she could do nothing about it, Liera stood back, embarrassed, and blushed. "Destroy the Orbs?" Reicu gleaned. "I doubt that that is possible. According to legend, you need the aide of a Water Elf to do that."  
  
The Elf standing next to the Hobbits stepped forward angrily at the disrespect of this young Wood Elf. "And we believe that there are still Water Elves in existence!"  
  
"And how do you know that?"  
  
"That is classified information!"  
  
Danel gathered her courage to step in between the brawl. "I know that Liera, Reicu and I are not a part of this council, nor were we invited to attend this meeting, but… I would like to issue my services to this quest."  
  
Both of the Elven men were now quiet.  
  
A hobbit slightly taller than the other two piped up and gave his input. "But you're a girl!"  
  
The blonde Hobbit standing next to him elbowed him in the side. "Shush, Pippin!"  
  
Gandalf held out his hand to silence the bickering Hobbits. "I believe we should at least let her prove herself." He looked over to the Elf in the company. "Legolas?"  
  
Legolas raised a bow, readied with an arrow, and shot it toward Danel. She winced as it flew right beside her face, striking the wooden door behind her. She looked nervously back at Legolas, now terrified of him. He motioned her to come forward and join him on the platform, and Danel fearfully obeyed. When she was standing right before him, he pointed to the arrow, where she turned and looked at it dead center in the door. "You see that arrow?" Legolas asked, to which Danel responded with a nod of her head. "That arrow is your target." He handed her his bow and quiver of arrows and stepped back to join Gandalf.  
  
Danel hated doing things in front of others, Liera knew that. But, everyone in the city knew that about this girl. She was… gifted in a way. Danel gulped as she placed the quiver over her shoulder and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath to clear her mind and concentrate. Not a second later her eyes shot open and the aimed the arrow, three almost at once, and each split the one before it in half; the meeting hall was in complete silence.  
  
Legolas stepped forward to the Elven girl and smiled. "I believe I owe you an apology, on behalf of the Hobbit there, for doubting you." He bowed, then received his bow and arrows back from her. He looked at the elderly wizard. "Gandalf?"  
  
Gandalf nodded, and Danel joined the company from Middle Earth. Gandalf glanced around the hall, keeping an eye on the two impish ones remaining, waiting for them to make their move. "We thank…"  
  
"Wait!" the two in the back shouted. The siblings exchanged glances, then looked up at Danel, then at Gandalf. "We're going with you!"  
  
As Liera and Reicu joined the others, Gandalf addressed the council once more. "Thank you for your services. We leave at daybreak."  
  
* * *  
  
The fellowship had already left the walls of Gilden by the time the sun rose over the Eastern Mountains, all equipped with horses and weaponry, and Merry and Pippin the Hobbits had made sure that Samwise had brought enough food to last at least two weeks. Gandalf lead the party at the front, riding his gray horse, and he had his faithful sword, Glamdring at his side. This was no ordinary sword; the blade turned a blue color when Orcs came too near, and had killed many an Orc in its time. Each of the three hobbits had a dagger, which to Hobbits was much like a sword anyway. Legolas had his bow, and also two daggers, each strapped just under his tunic to his legs for easy access if they were ever needed. Liera had like weapons, but her daggers her just inside the lining of her boot. Danel had a bow as well, as did Reicu, and both of them had a sword, but Danel's was black in color, and looked as though it had the blue reflection of water on it. Carved into the blade was a long forgotten language; she had even asked Gandalf what it meant, to no avail: Ystah e nretif mawiha dra nae iyh saf lodu Reogere nrecc ma.  
  
Sam's pony trotted up alongside Gandalf and the old wizard turned to him. "Gandalf, where exactly is the first place we are going to look?" he asked.  
  
Gandalf looked at the path once more. "We are going northwest to the North Mountains."  
  
Merry and Pippin shouted "What?!" in unison and made their ponies gallop to catch up with Gandalf. "Are you mad, Gandalf?" Pippin asked.  
  
"Because there are Orcs there… and Dragons…" Merry said, staring down at the back of his pony's head.  
  
"And big scary volcanoes!" Pippin finished off, raising his arms like a little child who is exaggerating something huge. He started to fall off his horse, to which he gave a slight whimper, then hurriedly grabbed back onto the reigns. He blushed as Merry laughed at him.  
  
Liera wasn't thrilled about going to the North Mountains either, and she wondered why Gandalf had chosen to head there first. "Why must we go there!?"  
  
Gandalf laughed at the silly girl's question. "The Dragons have an obsession with shiny things. More than likely, we will find one there." He turned sharply off the path then, heading directly into the woods, and the rest of the horses followed suit.  
  
"What are you doing!" Reicu called. "You're straying from the path!"  
  
"It's shorter this way," Gandalf said simply.  
  
Legolas turned to Danel with a laugh hidden on his face. "We all have a slight fear of staying on paths." Danel didn't get it, but continued to chat with Legolas.  
  
Liera on the other hand pouted and hung out at the back of the group with her brother. She did not like Gandalf very much at that moment, and Reicu just teased her. "Stop it Reicu! " she finally snapped at him, to which Reicu laughed harder. "I just didn't feel like dying today!" she shouted loud enough for Gandalf to hear. He just grinned.  
  
* * *  
  
"The trees are beginning to thin out," Legolas observed as the group neared the forest's edge northwest of Gilden.  
  
"If we're lucky, we'll see the Faeries here," Danel said, remembering her friend, Tanah, who was one of the beautiful sprites.  
  
"Have you seen one, Danel?" Merry asked, now riding beside her among the trees. "Are they beautiful?"  
  
Danel laughed. "Yes, very beautiful, but also tricky. They like to play with passers-by."  
  
Pippin, who was just behind Danel on his pony, waved his arm about as if he had a question. "Like how?" Danel turned around just in time to see an orange-gold Faerie fly up behind his head and throw a pebble at him, then dart away. Pippin turned only to see Reicu, who shrugged and snickered, then Pippin turned back to face Danel.  
  
Danel Giggled while trying to keep hold of the reigns of her horse. "Like that." Pippin pouted and slouched as he rubbed the back of his head with one hand. "Tanah!" Danel called out, and a small silver-purple sprite flew toward her. "Hello, Tanah!"  
  
"Where have you been, Danel? We've wanted to play with you!" Tanah said, playing with a strand of her light hair. "We've made a place for you to stay! We heard of your trip! Come stay! Come Stay!"  
  
Danel looked pleadingly at Gandalf. Can we stay with them tonight?"  
  
Gandalf stopped his horse, causing the others to do so as well. "We should keep going if we are to get to the Realm by tomorrow night."  
  
"Believe me, we are in no hurry at all, Gandalf!" Pippin called, but shut up and went back to pouting when Gandalf shot him a look.  
  
Liera tried to think of some reason at all to be able to stay with the Faeries. "It's already late. May we stay just for the night?"  
  
Gandalf glanced around at the pleading fellowship. Samwise and Legolas sat on their horses next to Gandalf's own. "They've got a point," they said in unison, causing the old wizard to give in.  
  
"Just tonight. We leave at daybreak!" The few gathered Faeries rejoices with shouts of "Yipee!" and "Danel's coming!" Gandalf quickly began to regret his decision.  
  
* * *  
  
A large table set with delectable meats and strange fruits lay before the fellowship, ready for the eating. A gigantic amount of Faeries was gathered to watch the Middle Earthlanders consume their dinner. "Eat! Eat! Eat!" they chanted, urging them to fill their stomachs no matter how much food it may take for the eight of them.  
  
Pippin was delighted; seven multi-colored Faeries sat around his plate, three hovered over his shoulder, and one dangled from the bottom of his wine glass. Legolas swore to himself that he had eaten something that was disagreeing with him, and that all this had to be an hallucination. Danel of course trusted the sprites and eventually everyone ate to their heart's content.  
  
"Come sleep!" The Faeries began their chant once more when the company had finished their meal. "Come sleep!" The Faeries ushered their guests to individual rooms that were very richly decorated. Soon after they reached their rooms and were in bed, a group of Faeries hovered above each of them, their insesent "La la la's" causing them to drift to sleep. 


	3. The Quest Begins

Chapter Two  
  
Liera stirred when she heard the door open and she shot her eyes open when she heard a heavy breathing. Standing less than five feet away was a trio of Orcs, and before she could move to get out of bed, an arrow was shot and hit her in the right thigh. She fell off the bed, gasping in pain and tried to take the arrow from her leg while taking temporary refuge behind the mattresses. Blood gushed from the wound as the arrowhead emerged from her flesh, and she noticed something odd about it. She gulped as she realized what it was. "Poisoned arrows…"  
  
She jumped up in rage; ready to let the Orcs finish their task, but was surprised to see only one remained standing. Through his head at that exact moment, through flesh and bone, came an arrow from the bow of Legolas. The now dead Orc fell atop the others as Legolas ran over it to the side of the wounded Liera. She collapsed to the side of the bed, clutching onto it to stay up. Legolas helped her limp from the room (throom- inside joke, ha ha) into the hallway, where the others were gathered as well, all gasping for breath or wounded. Danel had a deep cut on her cheek from an arrow, but ignored it as she helped Merry stand with his wounded leg. Reicu was carrying a half-dead Pippin, who had severe damage from arrows in his internal organs, but he himself had slashes in his forearms, clearly made by arrows. Sam had gotten away with a bruised forehead, and Gandalf was completely unscathed.  
  
Liera didn't want to frighten the rest of the company with her discovery of the Orcs' poison arrows, so she kept quiet. "We had better leave this place," Legolas said, glancing nervously about. "I feel as though this was a deliberate attempt on our lives." He looked down at the struggling Liera, who now had poison coursing through her veins. "I fear the Orcs had poisoned arrows."  
  
At those words, Liera fell from the hold of Legolas, unconscious, to the stone floor. As Legolas bent down to lift Legolas, Merry demanded something of him. "Why would it be deliberate? Is someone after us? Are the Faeries behind this?"  
  
Reicu glared at Danel. "Why don't you ask her?" he retorted, shifting Pippin's weight in his arms. "My sister is dying now because of…"  
  
Danel cut him off with a hard slap across his face. "Don't you ever speak to me that way again, Reicu, or I will shoot you on the spot and you damn well know I could do it without you even knowing!" Danel retorted, then helped Merry begin walking again.  
  
Before reaching a nearby stairwell however, a familiar purple sprite came from it. "Dane! Danel!" she cried frantically. "I must help you! Follow me!"  
  
Danel said one word in response to this that she had never said to her friend before. "No."  
  
"But Danel…"  
  
"How do I know you won't lead us to more Orcs?"  
  
"Danel, I had nothing to do with this! The leaders! The Orcs would burn the forest if we didn't do what they said! I didn't want to! Let me help, Danel! Let me help all of you!"  
  
Danel stared at the Faerie. "Get us out, Tanah." Danel still didn't want to trust the Faeries.  
  
Tanah flew away down a hall and the group had trouble following with the wounds, but in a few moments they reached a dead end with a window. "You said there was a way out!" Samwise protested.  
  
Legolas glanced out the three-storie high window and saw another large group of Orcs nearing the sprites' fortress. "If you don't get us out of here, we'll all die! Including you, Faerie, because I will personally wring your neck!"  
  
The Faerie sighed as she grew more and more annoyed with this Wood Elf. "This way," she said plainly, then flew straight through the wall to the right. "This way!"  
  
As Danel and Merry went through the "wall" after the sprite, Danel shot a look of pure and utter anger at Legolas. The fellowship all found themselves in a hidden passage covered with vines and cobwebs, having not been used in many years. It was at a steep slant, so they had a hard time standing, especially with the two unconscious ones. "How do we know this isn't a trap?" Gandalf demanded.  
  
"You don't." Tanah said angrily. "But the only choice now is to trust me… or go back and be slaughtered by the Orcs!" Tanah turned and started down the steep corridor.  
  
"What about our horses?" Merry asked. "And food?"  
  
"You have enough food to last you to the end of the passage, if that's what you're asking," Tanah said, still continuing down the hall. "But as for the horses… they're probably dead by now."  
  
"So you expect us to travel this hall for God knows how long on foot!?" Legolas said, suddenly just losing control.  
  
Gandalf lost his temper at the bad attitude the Elf was showing. "You will follow the Faerie or die with the Orcs! Choose now, Legolas!" Reicu smirked at the other Elf, and Legolas couldn't rightly do anything back since he carried Liera in his arms. As Legolas shifted Liera in his arms, an Orc stumbled through the wall as though he had tried to lean upon it, and Legolas handed the Elven girl to Gandalf. "Run!" he shouting, trying to get everyone to get out of there.  
  
All of the rest of the fellowship ran down the corridor, but Danel stayed behind with Merry to watch for Legolas' safekeeping. "Legolas! Come on!" Danel cried, helping Merry hobble.  
  
"Go, Danel! Get Merry out of here!" Legolas called, facing the Orc that was slowly advancing. It grumbled something unintelligible, and three more Orcs came through the illusion that was displayed as a wall.  
  
"No!" Danel shouted as all four of the Orcs at once raised bows and swords. Two arrows shot forward, piercing Legolas in the chest. "Legolas!"  
  
Legolas stood frozen in a mixture of pain and shock for a moment, then fell to his knees, and barely stayed for a second before toppling backward to the hard stone floor. Danel leaned Merry against the vine- covered wall as the four Orcs came toward them. The rest of the fellowship had still gone on; they were completely alone. Danel fought back tears as she readied her bow and arrow. She shot three of them after another, and then the fourth one caught her leg with its sword before an arrow sliced through its skull.  
  
Danel turned to Merry with tears and gave him a look, no words, which said she would be right back to help him. She ran to Legolas' motionless form. She ignored the gash in her leg as she ripped the end of her tunic off and began to apply pressure to Legolas' wounds. She attempted to remove the arrows as she spoke to herself, not caring if Merry was there or not. "Oh, God, please don't die Legolas…" She had an odd sense of De Ja Vu, but had no recollection of anyone whom she cared about dying. "Legolas…?" Legolas began to stir, and she forgot about her premonitions.  
  
"I'll be fine…ow!" he cried as both the arrows were pulled from his chest, but because of the pressure Danel had applied, not much blood came from the wounds. "Thank you, Danel…"  
  
Danel looked into his eyes as she trembled in the cold hall, and a bit of her hair dangled above his face. "You're cold," he said, tucking the strand of hair behind her ear. His hand stayed at her cheek and his thumb touched the place where an arrow grazed her face earlier. She leaned down and their lips touched tenderly for a moment.  
  
"Danel!" Merry turned to get Danel, and saw the two kissing on the ground, but hearing his voice caused them both to shoot their heads up. "Er… um… they're coming back to find us! They're right there!"  
  
Danel helped Legolas to his feet slowly and painfully as the group grew closer. Gandalf raised his eyebrows at the two when the company arrived, and the blush on Danel's face could back up his hypothesis of what had happened. "Tanah estimates four to five hours of travel down this tunnel which goes underground, then we will find ourselves about two hours away from the town, Zeoba."  
  
Sam helped Merry hobble now as Danel helped Legolas walk, which was fascinating to her that he could even move at all. She then had the realization of what she had just done, and judging by the look on Legolas' face, he did as well. He looked at her, and then the fellowship started back down the passage. 


	4. Betrayal

Chapter III  
  
The tunnel was lit only by the glow of the Faerie as the entourage traveled further. The path now had leveled itself and was no longer declining, which eased traveling by foot with two unconscious and two badly wounded. They stopped only once to rest after two hours, and then pressed onward. The path started to rise slightly at a slant when the Faerie said they had only an hour of travel left to go down this pathway. They were thankful, to say the least.  
  
Then they were stopped, dead in their tracks, at a hideous sight.  
  
The path had been closed off, and had a large cobweb that completely covered it. Tangled in the web, was a skeleton that had clearly been there for a long while.  
  
Legolas made a jump for Tanah, despite his injuries, but Danel held him back. This couldn't keep the Elf from yelling. "I thought you said…"  
  
"I know what I said!" the sprite shouted back. "I had no idea this had been closed off, or I…"  
  
As the two bickered with Danel trying to get in between them, Gandalf stared intently at the web, ignoring them. He quieted them as he saw a slight movement in the web. He pulled the two Hobbits that stood next to the web away and behind him next to Reicu, who still held Pippin, who was slowly fading as well as Liera, who was held in Gandalf's arm.  
  
Gandalf gently laid Liera onto the stone floor, and turned back to the skeleton, which now seemed to be looking at them. "If we can't get through, the Orcs are sure to get us," he whispered. 


End file.
